The Pyrrhian Chapters
by FirestartheWarriorCat
Summary: This story is a collection of one-shots about the dragons of Pyrrhia. You review which characters you want for future chapters! You can also leave OCs and even story plots! Rated K plus for violence. Update: All swearing is gone from the story! I've gotten complaints about it, so I decided to edit them out!
1. Clay

**Hey, guys! I'm back! On a sad note, I'm discontinuing Sunny's New Story. To any of you guys who actually liked it, I'm sorry. You can still read the old chapters, but no new ones will be published. It's dragging on to long for me and it's getting quite tiresome and dull. For this story, I will try to publish a new chapter at least every week. On a happy note, all swearing from the story is gone! I've gotten complaints, and I decided I'd fix it for you guys! With that out of the way, here's The Pyrrhian Chapters!**

* * *

><p>Clay<p>

Ahh, Clay thought. Mud. Is there anything better?

Clay and his sibs, Pheasant, Sora, Umber, Reed, and Marsh, all floated lazily atop a pool of mud, with Peril sitting on the edge of it, only dipping her back claws in.

"How do you guys stand that stuff?" Peril asked. "Mud is simply repulsive."

"Hah," Clay replied lethargically, shifting his amber gaze to meet Peril's electric blue stare. "It's the best thing in the world. It's warm, it's comfy, it's everything you've ever wished for."

"Yeah," Umber squeaked, tiny eyes shut tight. "Everything."

"Suit yourself," Peril mumbled, staring uneasily at Clay's sibs. "I wouldn't want to hurt your sibs, even if I liked the mud. I'd fry them. On accident, of course."

With that, Clay's mind started to wander. The toasty mud swathing the MudWing was slowing everything down inside to a crawl, and was so refreshing- like a cool drink on a summer day, only better and more rich. He couldn't think of anything more enjoyable than this- all his sibs and the love of his life, all there with him. It would be the reunion of a lifetime, if Tsunami, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny were here as well.

"So!" Peril said, stirring Clay and his sibs from their semi-stupor. "Do we have any plans for today?"

"I've got one," Pheasant muttered, her eyelids drooping tiredly. "Let's just stay here all day. I'm perfectly happy with that."

"Do nothing. That sounds about right for you, Pheasant," Marsh remarked, smirking at his sister.

"Lay off her, Marsh!" Sora admonished, her eyes narrowed into slits at her brother. She hissed at him, then slowly turned her head around.

"I want to do nothing," Clay said, verbalizing his input. "I could lay here all day."

Peril shifted uncomfortably on her claws, looking at the ground sheepishly.

"What's wrong, Peril?" Reed inquired, facing the blue-eyed SkyWing quizzically. "You look depressed."

"What tipped you off?" Peril scoffed at Reed. "I hate mud, all right? I kind of just want to do something, you know."

As if to interrupt the thick silence that hung there like fog, Clay's stomach rumbled like a war horn.

"I'm hungry," Clay announced redundantly.

"Actually, I am too," Reed agreed. Marsh, Pheasant, Umber and Sora all seemed to concur.

"Who says we go look for some fruit or something?" Clay asked enthusiastically. "I could use some fruit. Especially mangoes."

"You dolt!" Marsh joked. "There's no mangoes in the middle of a swampland."

"We could go hunt for some food. Groose, thrush, egret, maybe," Reed suggested. "There's a really lush hunting ground over there."

Clay looked over at Peril. "And with Peril here, our meat can be immediately cooked! Peril?"

"I'm fine with hunting," Peril said. "It's not lounging in the mud, so I'm sold."

"What are we wasting time lingering here for?" Umber asked, sitting up in the mud, a thick sheet of muck coating his back. He hopped out of the pool to sit near Peril, who surreptitiously gave Umber a wider berth between them, as not to scorch him.

"C'mon, guys," Clay said, rising from the brown muck, only Marsh and Reed following him. Pheasant still lay there, savoring the mud, and Sora was fast asleep, silent as a fox.

"Don't be impossible like you always are, Pheasant," Marsh jeered. "Get up."

"I don't want to," Pheasant said. "You four can go. Sora and I are happy here."

"Suit yourselves, then," Clay said in a faux sad tone. "I guess you and Sora won't get any of that delectable food."

At the mention of food, Sora's eyes opened brightly. "Hey, I'll come along," she said in her usual timid voice. She got up and joined them.

"I guess you'll be here all alone then, Pheasant," Marsh said, in a mimicking voice of Clay's. "You won't get any delicious thrush. I know it's your favorite!"

"Like I'd listen to you, Marsh," Pheasant rebelled.

"Maybe it would do you some good if you listened for once, Pheasant. To anybody." Clay looked at Pheasant, whose contemptuous glare began to soften after Clay's chiding.

Pheasant rose from the mud, walking slowly to add herself to the hunting party.

"I feel mortified of myself," Pheasant admitted shamefacedly. "I'm sorry I was a jerk."

"Hey!" Marsh jibed. "What's with the sudden personality shift?"

"If you don't shut your trap, I'll revert back to my old ways," Pheasant seethed.

"Why do you two always fight?" Sora asked out of the blue.

There was stark silence. Why would she ask that? Clay thought. It's kinda uncalled for, you know?

"Sora," Clay said. "It's kind of natural, you know? Siblings fight, it's that simple."

The world seemed to exhale in relief as Clay broke the quietness. Birds resumed their chirping; the wind its whistling.

"Oh, ok," Sora said. She didn't speak anymore.

Umber was fidgeting temperamentally, hopping from his left claws to his right and back again. "Are we going to go? Or just stand here?"

"Preferably, go," Peril said, fidgeting also.

"Okay, let's go," Clay said, stepping away from the swamp. His sibs and Peril followed closely behind, eager to go hunting.

As soon as Clay lay his foot down in the field Reed had described, he instantaneously realized why this was such an adequate hunting ground. The fields were lush green, the evergreens and birch trees were being buffeted by the refreshing, bittersweet breeze he mostly adored, not to mention his and the others' back spines, and numerous wildflowers and dandelions were juxtaposed beside one another.

It's beautiful, Clay thought, dazed by the sight placed in front of him. How have I never seen this before?

"See?" Reed said, extending a talon to present the field to them, as if he were a cruise director. "It's the best place for hunting ever. Prey love this field. There's plentiful food for them, too."

"Okay, let's hunt now!" Umber said enthusiastically, running off.

"Hey!" yelled Marsh and Reed in unison, bolting after thier younger brother.

"Boys," Pheasant whispered to Sora and Peril, who laughed at the three MudWings.

* * *

><p>"There's prey everywhere you look," Peril marveled, after the group had split up. Clay and Peril had gone off on their own, Pheasant and Sora had teamed up, and Umber, Marsh, and Reed had grouped together. Fish writhed around in the massive lake nearby, nightingales and thrushes sang a chorus in the treetop canopy, and herons lurked sneakily in the reeds.<p>

The white trunks of birch trees pervaded their part of the forest. The leaves on them glowed lime green, indicating the middle of summer.

"This is so picturesque," Peril marveled. "I can barely fathom how amazing this is."

And I couldn't imagine being here with anyone besides you, Clay thought, ogling Peril a little, as her head was turned. I love you, Peril.

"Eeesh," Peril said, hastily eyeing the gnarled black ground she was leaving behind with her footsteps. "I wish I wasn't such a danger to nature."

"You're not a 'danger to nature', Peril," Clay consoled. "Don't sweat it."

Peril's icy-blue look fell on Clay, who felt now as if he were under a spotlight. "Thanks, Clay." She smiled at him, making Clay feel like he was baking in an oven. "You always know what to say."

"Yeah! I do! Hehe," Clay said, a fake confident tone in his voice.

I'm making myself look like an idiot! Clay thought.

Hey! said Clay's conscience. Don't be so condescending to yourself. You don't look like an idiot.

Salvaging some of the courage his conscience gave him, Clay cleared his throat. Peril snapped her head to face the sudden noise.

She's expecting me to say something! Clay thought urgently. What do I say?

"Wanna try hunting?" he managed rather lamely.

Peril looked at him for a second, a bit confused, but replied, "Yes!"

The two dragons split up, as two dragons right beside one another would certainly arouse suspicion in any prey in the area that might see them.

Since the impending thrill of hunting was on the horizon, Clay forgot about Peril temporarily. He ocularly scoured the perimeter of the area for any prey.

Aha! Clay thought. Found you!

In the distance, Clay saw a fat pig that was rolling around in the very same pool of mud he and his sibs had been in just minutes previously. It was the kind of pig you'd normally see being used as bacon, or maybe for pork chops.

Clay almost salivated thinking about eating the pig. His stomach was rumbling like crazy, and he really needed something to quell both the noise and the feeling of an empty hole in his stomach.

Clay stalked the unwary pig as best as a large, glaringly obvious brown dragon could, hiding behind the occasional bush or massive tree. Clay's furtiveness surprised him really- he was usually known for being somewhat of a klutz.

I'm almost there! he cheered silently. Just a few more meters, and I'll be home free.

Eventually, Clay ended up right behind the pig, whose hindquarters faced the russet-colored MudWing.

I'll breathe fire on the nuisance, Clay thought mischievously. It'll be cooked through and through.

Clay taciturnly made the fire-is-coming noise he knew quite well, judging from the constant training sessions he'd (begrudgingly) participated in with Kestrel under the mountain.

Soon enough, the pig felt the searing pain on its rear end and began to run, in a futile attempt to put out the blaze. Clay finished off the miserable hog, feeling quite good he'd been able to pull it off so well.

"I almost never do anything that well," Clay quietly said to himself. He chuckled a bit, and set course to the copse of birches he and Peril had been talking at before their hunting trips began.

Clay sat down, sprawled the fresh carcass in front of him, and started to scorch it a bit more, as he had only gotten the back of the pig. As he finished his work, he heard a dragon's footsteps approaching him.

"Hey!" Clay greeted an emptyhanded Peril. "Didn't you catch anything?"

"No, in fact," she said. "I found a group of songbirds though, all talking and not noticing their surroundings. They felt my heat and flew away just in time. Curse my unluckiness."

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Peril," Clay soothed, urging her to sit down opposite him. "I caught a pig down by the swamp. Wanna share it?" He grinned stupidly at Peril, who giggled a bit.

"Sure, you weirdo," Peril jibed, a grin now stretched across her copper-orange face. "Gimme some." She made a grab for the pig, which Clay pulled away just in time.

"You'll have to wait your turn," Clay fake-taunted. He slowly pulled a piece off the pig, dropping it in his mouth.

Peril's facial expression converted into determination, and the SkyWing made a successful lunge towards the pig, slicing a rather large bit off.

"This is really good pig," Clay mumbled through his fifteenth piece of pork. "The best I've ever tasted, in fact."

"Fact." Peril laughed. "An odd word to hear from you."

"Shut up, squid-brain," Clay jeered, implementing Tsunami's favorite insult into his sentence.

"Listen to us," Peril said. "We sound just like Pheasant and Marsh."

"We do," Clay said, wrapping an arm around his sweetheart.

"Lay off the intimacy, mudhead!" Peril joked, pushing her 'assailant' away from her.

"Oh, be quiet. I know you like it." Clay glanced at Peril, who would have been as red as a strawberry, would she have been able to blush.

Clay and Peril remained quiet for a few moments, just drinking in the scenery. Near the dragons, Clay spotted a sight that reminded him of something, though he couldn't quite place it- a small mud puddle with a single orange blackberry lily poking out from the ground beside it.

"I love you more than anything, Peril."

"I love you more than life itself, Clay."

With that, the lovesick dragons collapsed against one another, embracing each other fiercer than a hurricane, a tiger, and a raging fire all in one. It was simple.

It was true love.


	2. Tsunami

Tsunami

I can't believe it's my hatching day today! Tsunami thought with glee.

Tsunami had just woken up in her hut in the RainWing kingdom, the one she slept in the nights she was there to train the army as general. It was a comfortable hut- not too much smaller than Glory's, but definitely larger than the ones the regular denizens made their homes in.

It was early morning outside by the looks of it- the sun wasn't up yet, in fact. The whole world was asleep, it seemed.

This is peculiar, Tsunami thought, screwing her face up in disbelief. I usually have to be woken up, for moons' sake, and now I'm first up in the whole kingdom. Strange.

If it had been a regular day and Tsunami had woken up this early, she might have pulled a few pranks- trash Glory's cabin, hide some of Starflight's favorite scrolls, etc.

After all, Tsunami thought. Who wouldn't pull pranks on a whole kingdom of sleeping dragons?

The only reason Tsunami wasn't getting her throwing eggs ready was that it was Glory and Starflight's hatching day, too- it would be a little inhumane to take advantage of them today.

Rain check, Tsunami mentally noted. How about tomorrow I wake up early?

But wait, she thought. What should I do to commemorate today? Staying here for the party would be super lame.

Just then, a spendid idea bloomed in her head like a flower (which she'd seen a lot lately, most notably when the unfathomably exasperating ranks of the army would point a particularly 'interesting' one out to her. Tsunami wanted to rip their puny little heads off when that happened.)

That's it! Tsunami grinned. I can go visit Anemone, Auklet, and Mother!

* * *

><p>Tsunami had just broke through the borders of the RainWing kingdom, inhaling the early morning air that curled into her nostrils like gifts from heaven. Tsunami was glad to leave the rainforest and all its splendor behind her for a few days.<p>

Initially, Tsunami planned to bring Glory and Starflight along with her, but there were a few blatantly obvious reasons why not. First things first, Glory was the queen, after all, and probably couldn't leave the kingdom for long. Starflight, on the other talon, would be stumbling around aimlessly the whole time, being as annoying as he usually was. Finally, even if those two things could be ignored, there was one more thing to consider- Starflight and Glory couldn't breathe underwater.

There was the Summer Palace, of course- the very same place the five dragonets had visited last year, seeking refuge from the SkyWings. But it was completely defunct now, razed by the SkyWings' makeshift firebombs.

Evidently, bringing her friends along was not exactly the epitome of good ideas. More like the bottom of the barrel.

Anyway, Tsunami couldn't be more excited. She hadn't seen her kin for months now, and she was going to go maniacal if she was seperated from them any longer.

What do you suppose Mother's going to plan? Tsunami asked herself. I bet it'll be absolutely wonderful! Feasts, battles, games, I'll make sure this party has it all!

Tsunami flew for a while, an air of euphoria everywhere around her. She soared as fast as she possibly could, determined to make it in time to set up festivities. Tsunami was dead-set on making this the best hatching day ever.

Her full attention on her ploy for the party, Tsunami's guard was completely down. So when she collided full-force into a gigantic dragon, Tsunami fell hard, her face getting an unexpected meeting with the white sand below her.

Everything spun around her, making the blue and green SeaWing nauseous.

For moons' sake, what in Pyrrhia crashed into me? Tsunami thought lividly. I'm going to give whatever it was a piece of my mind!

Tsunami stood up, rolling up her metaphorical sleeves to deal with whatever put her off-course. Whatever did it was nowhere to be seen.

"Where in the world did that thing go?" Tsunami said quietly. Tsunami had to admit it- she was a bit intimidated. Her hushed voice quelled, and Tsunami waited nervously for a sign of a malevolent force.

The beautiful white sand beach was completely silent, save for the whistling of the palm trees' leaves in the wind and the rustling in a large sand dune's long grass several meters away.

Wait, Tsunami thought. Rustling in long grass? I'll check there.

Tsunami crouched down and snuck ever so quietly up to the dune. All kinds of emotions were rushing through the young SeaWing- anger, thrill, determination- but anxiety and fear were the most prominent. What would happen if this... this thing got to her? What would become of the former dragonet of destiny? All that ran through Tsunami's mind now were grisly scenes of murder- her broken body lying there dead, her mother and sisters taking a stroll on the beach only to find her flayed, sliced, or bloody corpse there, rotting away. Or perhaps the burned-out husk of her body, fried to a crisp, if the opponent was anything but a SeaWing. Maybe a scavenger's sword piercing her brain, or an arrow right between the eyes...

Don't think like that, Tsunami chastised herself. You'll only make the anxiety worse. And maybe you can beat this thing. You don't even know what it is. It could even be benevolent, you never know.

With a newfound confidence, Tsunami gulped and pulled back the long grass.

Nothing repulsed, frightened, or even unsettled Tsunami in the slightest. In fact, what she saw quite pleased her.

"Riptide!" Tsunami cried, stooping down to embrace him. "Hey, squid-brain!"

"Oh. Hey, Tsunami," Riptide said, scratching his head embarrassedly. "Sorry I ran into you. That was you, right?"

"It was," Tsunami said, sitting down beside him. "Why'd you hide in the grass? You freaked me out."

"I guess I inherited the run-away-from-your-problems gene from Dad," he muttered, clearly talking about Webs. "I didn't exactly know who I'd run across until after I hid like a coward in the grass. I peeked out, and I saw you."

"Let this be a lesson to you, then," Tsunami said jokingly. "Don't be a coward."

"You're unusually happy today," Riptide jibed.

"I know, squid-brain," Tsunami said. "I thought you liked when I was happy."

"Sometimes, when I'm in a good mood," Riptide said under his breath.

"What's the matter?" Tsunami asked, a faint trace of sympathy in her voice. Tsunami felt like she had to act all tough around Riptide, like she had to prove something. After all, the first time they met, they were locked in a life or death struggle. She didn't like to reveal her true to feelings to many other dragons except her sisters, mother, and the other dragonets. Even then, Tsunami always felt reluctant to do it.

"Queen Coral's been extra malicious to me lately," Riptide said, his eyes meeting Tsunami's. "Especially when it comes to you. She's always on my case in regards to being anywhere near you, like she thinks my father's treachery will somehow rub off on you and you'll try to overthrow her. Stuff like that is making me crazy, to be honest."

"I'll talk to her," Tsunami said, chomping at the bit for adulation from Riptide. "Go back to your post," she advised. "It won't do any good for you to slack off."

Riptide looked graciously up at Tsunami.

"I can't thank you enough," he said. "Thanks, Tsunami. This is why I love you. You care about others before yourself, and you're so brave."

"Thanks," Tsunami said. She knew she'd be red in the face if she could blush- her senses were overloading right about now. It didn't compute why Tsunami was scared to show her face, because she loved Riptide with all of her heart. "I love you, too."

Before Tsunami left, she saw Riptide look at her, and light up his stripes. Squid-brain.

Squid-brain, she flashed back. They smiled at each other.

Tsunami crawled back out of the grass, ready to prove to her mother that Riptide wasn't a traitor.

I can do this, she thought. At least, I hope I can.

Tsunami lifted into the sky, setting course for the Deep Palace of the SeaWing kingdom.

* * *

><p>Here we are! Tsunami thought. The Deep Palace!<p>

Tsunami loved to be able to breathe through her gills. It felt like they were what she was supposed to breathe through- not her lungs. She felt free, to say the least.

Tsunami swam around, admiring the scenic land displayed before her. Bubbles frothed as far as the eye could see, the ubiquitous green and blue scales of SeaWings rippled through the water as the dragons went about their day, and the tendrils of seaweed and swaths of coral pervaded the scenery.

The Deep Palace was true to its name in both regards. It was certainly deep- miles under the ocean, in fact. The only reason Tsunami could see was because of the ability to see in dark places that SeaWings possessed.

There was no doubt the Deep Palace was indeed a palace. Regality hung in the water like a thick fog, and there was no denying the elegance of the marble structures there.

Okay, Tsunami thought. I need to find Mother and clear Riptide's name. But where could she be?

Tsunami wasn't in the Deep Palace very often- she spent most of her time in the RainWing kingdom. Also, she only knew the rudiments of Aquatic, so she wouldn't really be able to communicate with anyone to find where her mother might be.

Then, a part of the palace Tsunami had seen before caught her eye- the Royal Hatchery! There probably wouldn't be any new eggs- after all, her mother's mate, her father, Gill, was dead, so they couldn't have any more dragonets.

Tsunami swam down anyway, and was invigorated by the familiarity of the place. Remembering the spar she'd had with her late sister Orca's statue in the room last year, she giggled a bit at the empty pedestal where the marble menace had once stood vigil over the eggs.

Swimming around the hatchery to get aquainted with it once more, Tsunami noticed something.

A large baby-blue egg was propped up in the side of the room. It was the only egg in there, but it looked almost hours, minutes from hatching. That sent a myriad of questions through Tsunami's brain.

Who the hell did Mother have that with? she pondered. If she found a new mate, why only one egg? Also, why the hell is the egg unattended?

Motherly instincts kicking in, Tsunami rushed over to incubate the little unborn dragonet, hoping he or she hadn't frozen with no one there to help them.

Tsunami let out a sigh of relief as she got on the egg, insuring its safety until the moment it hatched.

Typical, Tsunami thought grumpily. I do a laudable act for once, and there's no one there to see it! On my hatching day, no less!

Tsunami sat there for what seemed like days, watching the hopes of clearing Riptide's besmirched name and parentage and to have the party of a lifetime wash away in the water. Worst. Hatching Day. Ever.

Her eyes affixed on the hatchery door, Tsunami expected to see someone- anyone- come up to her and take the job. No one did. Also, the egg was seeming to warm up, which gave Tsunami the bleakest of hopes it would survive.

* * *

><p>"Huh?" Tsunami gasped, awaking with a start. Bubbles escaped out of her mouth clouding her vision to a large extent.<p>

I must have fallen asleep! Tsunami thought worriedly. I could have crushed the egg!

Tsunami lifted herself up and scanned the egg for damages- there were none evident. Thankfully.

Just then, a cracking sound reverberated through the hatchery. The egg was hatching! Tsunami remembered the rapture that had overtaken her when her youngest sister, Auklet, had hatched. She felt the same jolt now, and was absolutely giddy with elation.

The dragonet inside was struggling to get out, and Tsunami could see their futile attempts to break the egg.

"Don't give up, little one," she cooed affectionately, bubbles again obscuring what was in front of her. "You'll get it, I know you will!"

After a hard-fought battle, the small dragonet finally burst out of the egg. It was a boy!

Then, however, something finally struck Tsunami. She recalled falling asleep, but if she had, she would have crushed the egg.

Unless, Tsunami thought. The egg held twins.

As she had suspected, another dragonet crawled out of the eggshell, also a boy. He had a gleam in his eye of fury, showing he'd also participated in the cracking of the egg.

Both dragonets thrashed wildly, their stripes lighting up at random.

"Food! Food!" they seemed to chant. Tsunami swiveled towards the entrance to bring the dragonets to find a fish, when she noticed who she'd been looking for all day standing there.

"Mother!" Tsunami yelled through the water.

Queen Coral gestured up, as if to signify, Follow me up so we can talk.

Tsunami nodded in agreement and followed the queen of the SeaWings up towards the exit to the Deep Palace.

* * *

><p>"Okay, Tsunami," Queen Coral said. "What's on your mind?"<p>

The four dragons had just broken the surface of the water, and were floating right in the middle of the vast sea.

"Mother?" Tsunami said. "Why was the egg in the hatchery unattended?"

"I sent Moray to incubate that egg!" Queen Coral yowled in rage, going off on one of her pedestrian tirades Tsunami had come to expect from her evey now and then. "That... that... UGGGGGHHHHGGHHGGHHH!"

"Mother, at least I saved them," Tsunami said, holding up the two baby-blue dragonets. "Do you have any ideas for names?"

Both of the dragonets writhed in Tsunami's claws, and Queen Coral cocked her head at them.

"How about Tempest and Squall?" Queen Coral suggested.

"Nice!" Tsunami said, grasping on to Squall extra hard to quell his fidgeting.

Queen Coral looked at Tsunami lovingly. "Well, I'm so glad you're here on your hatching day! We were planning something for you, and we thought you'd never come!"

"Mom!" Tsunami gasped in exasperation. "Don't ruin the surprise!"

"Surprise ruined. Sorry."

"So, where's Anemone and Auklet?" Tsunami asked.

"Classified, Tsunami," Queen Coral said. "You'll have to wait a while. You're gonna love this party so much!"

Way to go, Mother, Tsunami thought. Now I know where they are. I just need to know when the party is starting!

"Hey, Mother?" Tsunami said.

"Yeah, Tsunami?"

"When will the party start?" Tsunami asked.

"Soon," Queen Coral replied. "Go find Squall and Tempest something to eat in the meantime. I'll get you when I'm ready."

"Okay," Tsunami said. "Thanks, Mother!"

Wait! Tsunami thought. I forgot to mention Riptide!

"Mother! Hold up!" Tsunami called. It was no use. The Queen of the SeaWings had gone under the waves, and they wouldn't meet again for a while.

How could I forget? Tsunami thought, enveloped in sorrow. What a friend I am.

* * *

><p>Tempest and Squall swam around, fighting over the fish and causing a ruckus.<p>

Will Mother ever be here? Tsunami thought, bored. I've been sitting here for hours, I bet. And Tempest and Squall certainly aren't helping.

Tsunami was sitting on a beach near the Deep Palace, watching the tide and her brothers, so they wouldn't run off. The sun was shining, the water was perfect, and everything seemed to be alive. It was a great day, which at least raised the spirtis of Tsunami at least a bit.

"Will you stop, Tempest?" Tsunami asked frustratedly, as a sand-covered Tempest whacked his brother over the head. The small SeaWing then proceeded to kick Squall in the ribs, causing Tsunami to pick up Tempest and glare menacingly at him to frighten him.

Tempest, now scared, leaped away and helped Squall up off the ground.

"Thank you, Tempest," Tsunami said, looking towards the far end of the beach.

As if heaven itself sent Queen Coral down to Pyrrhia, the blue queen walked up and spoke five words; "Come on. The party's starting!"

* * *

><p>The party was held at the Summer Palace, where Anemone and Auklet had fixed it up enough so a group of dragons could gather there.<p>

The two sisters had immediately approached Tsunami and the twins, sighing about how adorable they were.

"Oh my moons," Anemone said. "They are SO cute!"

"Can I hold Tempest and Squall now?" Auklet sighed. "I just want to eat them up..."

"You can hold them, but don't do that," Tsunami said, handing off the dragonets to her sisters, who acted like they would faint.

Walking past all the craziness of the party- beach volleyball, numerous food fights, and tails thrashing everywhere- Tsunami scoured the group for her mother. Queen Coral needed to reconcile with Riptide.

Finally, she found Queen Coral sitting in a blue plush and gold throne. She was overlooking the party, and beckoned Tsunami over with a talon upon spotting her.

"Tsunami," she said. "You clearly needed to tell me something before I left. Sorry I didn't turn around- I needed to help Anemone and Auklet with the setup."

"Actually, yes, I do," Tsunami said. She cleared her throat. This was going to be massive news- there was a abundant chance this wouldn't go over well.

"I was wondering, Mother, if you could perhaps forgive Riptide," Tsunami announced. Remembering the pure lust for forgiveness Riptide had been aiming for, she added in, "Webs, too," for good measure.

Queen Coral stayed silent for a painfully long time.

What will she say? Tsunami thought, quaking with nervousness. Please say yes.

"Well, Tsunami," Queen Coral said, looking straight into Tsunami's eyes. "Turn around."

Tsunami did as she was told, and was surprised to find the water that quenched the neverending fire of her heart, the most handsome, amiable dragon she knew, the key purpose to her life- standing right there, looking softly at her with his dark, dark blue eyes, beautiful black pearls that enveloped her in a comfortable grasp that could only be described as vehement love.

"Riptide, I can't believe it!" Tsunami cried, letting her green gaze merge with his midnight blue one. "How did you ever coax her into trusting you again?"

"I can explain, Tsunami," Queen Coral said. "I just... you know... thought about that today. Webs, now Webs will be disemboweled and have his organs strung like streamers if he tries to step in the SeaWing kingdom again. I can't forgive him, no matter what. He stole you, and I couldn't stand it if I lost you again." Queen Coral sniffled.

"It's all right, Queen Coral," Riptide consoled. "I will be Tsunami's personal bodyguard, and I will protect her with my life. You'll never lose her, not ever. And if I do lose her, you may disembowel me and hang my organs like streamers."

"Thanks," Queen Coral thanked Riptide. "I'll consider it. And Tsunami, I shall exonerate Riptide if he doesn't try anything. I know Webs' treachery wasn't his fault. Sorry for ever misjudging you."

"Mother, I can't thank you enough," Tsunami said. She looked up at Riptide, who in turn looked down at her. They both nodded, as if to say something silently. "Would you... approve a relationship between Riptide and me?"

"Don't be silly, Tsunami," Queen Coral giggled. "Of course you can. Oh, and the guests are here! Great."

What guests? Tsunami thought, glancing quickly at the ruins of the Summer Palace. Vines still pervaded the place, although they were very charred and blackened, and so gnarled you'd have thought they were snakes. Tsunami found the entrance, covered thickly in vines with the same little pool from before still intact. There, four dragons purveyed the snack tables with drinks and fruit from the RainWing kingdom. SeaWings immediately rushed to grab a glass and a piece of fruit, and walked off to their congregations of friends.

Three other dragons followed the first four, one of them with an armload of snacks and one dragon guiding another along.

Instantaneously, Tsunami recognized those three dragons- Clay with the armload of snacks, Starflight being guided along, and Fatespeaker there, helping him.

Then, Tsunami noticed the other four dragons were familiar- Peril, Sunny, Glory, and Deathbringer!

The whole gang's here, I guess! Tsunami thought, smiling like a dope.

"Hey, Riptide! Come on!" Tsunami tore though the crowd towards the snack tables, where her friends were gathered.

"Wait up, squid-brain!" Riptide yelled, following her in hot pursuit.

Tsunami waited, out of breath, for Riptide to reach her. She was a few paltry feet away from her friends- she wanted to approach them with Riptide.

"Okay... I'm... here..." Riptide panted.

"Okay, let's go say hi!" Tsunami said jubilantly.

Tsunami and Riptide approached the seven dragons. Sunny noticed them first, and skipped over to join them, happy as ever.

"Hey, Tsunami! Hey, Riptide!" Sunny said. "I missed you guys so much! Hey, Clay, Tsunami and Riptide are here!"

Clay and Peril walked over to the three dragons, and both dragons greeted Riptide and Tsunami.

"Hey, guys," Clay said. Peril stood beside him, looking quite bothered. She probably was afraid of hurting someone.

Eventually, the nine dragons were all together, talking away.

"This party had better be good, Tsunami," Glory said. "I expect nothing short of the best hatching day ever. I'm missing the praise of my whole kingdom for this!"

"Anything will be better than the crappy parties our guardians had for us under the mountain," Starflight commented. "Talk about insipid."

"You said it," Glory agreed.

"Hey guys!" Sunny squeaked. "The band's playing!"

The SeaWings' band started up on a song to celebrate the heir of Queen Coral's hatching day. The squeaking of the woodwinds and dissonance of the brass was vexatious, but Tsunami didn't mind. Nothing could ruin her day now- she was with everyone she cared about, it was her hatching day, and mostly nothing had gone wrong all day.

Queen Coral, Anemone, and Auklet approached the nine dragons, handling the two small baby-blue dragonets, Squall and Tempest. Sunny, Glory, and Fatespeaker cooed over them and hugged them. Peril hung back uncomfortably, and Clay was soothing her.

Tsunami recalled the only question she hadn't gotten answers to yet- who was the father of Tempest and Squall?

"Mother?" Tsunami asked Queen Coral.

"Yes, Tsunami?" Queen Coral answered.

"Who was the father of Tempest and Squall?"

"I don't know, Tsunami. I found their egg in the hatchery one day. I don't know how they got there."

"Thanks, Mother," Tsunami said. She glanced over at the two squirming dragonets in Sunny's arms.

You two are a mystery. Tsunami thought. I wonder who your real parents are?

Tsunami looked over at her friends. But really, this was the best hatching day ever. I'm happy with today, and I'll remember it forever.

Tsunami walked over to Riptide and whispered something in his ear. "I love you."

Riptide didn't answer. He just hugged Tsunami.


	3. Glory

Glory

"That is why, dragons of the forest, the NightWings are hereby permitted to roam freely throughout the forest," Queen Glory announced.

The cheering of dragons rang through the Abortoreum. Glory looked down on her subjects with tired eyes- she'd been preparing this speech all day. Glory was proud the speech had gone over well. She'd decided to lift her oppression of the NightWings because of Starflight and Fatespeaker. They'd asserted to her the NightWings weren't evil, but misunderstood. Glory had believed them after a brief inspection, and here she was.

"You may return to sun time, RainWings," Glory announced. The vibrant dragons, easily picked out among the sea of obsidian-black NightWings, swung away from the Abortoreum for the hammocks and platforms, making quite the din.

Turning back to the mass of NightWings, still waiting for orders, Glory sent them off, too, leaving her as the only dragon there.

Glory stepped down from her pedestal, and yawned.

I need some sleep, she thought bitterly. I haven't slept in two days.

Glory studied her scales for a moment. Orange and crimson played across them- irritation and embarrassment.

I do get a bit embarrassed in front of that many dragons, Glory thought.

Wrapping her crimson prehensile tail around a thick branch, Glory left the Abortoreum for sun time. Before she actually reached her usual platform, Glory looked for a place to sleep that was still free. Green started to flood her scales- displeasure.

The only free space is beside my annoying brother, Glory thought. Goddamn it.

Sighing, Glory laid herself beside pink Jambu. He stirred, but thankfully didn't awaken. The only more trying thing to Glory than Jambu himself was an awake Jambu.

With a mixture of the sun's comforting rays and the drowsiness that already had plagued Glory before, the RainWing queen was nearly asleep already as soon as she hit the platform. The solace of warm dragon bodies around Glory was overwhelming, and sleep struck Glory within seconds.

* * *

><p>Glory awoke. She studied the sky above her, which was onyx-black and eggplant purple, dotted with white speckles- stars- that looked like sprinkles on a cupcake and with a crescent moon that resembled a boomerang.<p>

"How long did I sleep?" Glory murmured. The RainWings had all left for their huts. The lights in each hut were off.

It was late morning when I gave that speech, Glory thought. It's late night now. Maybe 12 hours I was asleep? Sheesh.

Since Glory was wide awake now, she wouldn't be able to just retire to her hut and go back to bed. Wondering what to do, Glory leaped off the platform and opened her wings.

The night air was cool, thick, and humid, and it felt to Glory as if she was continuously ramming into a solid wall. Soaked with the humidity, Glory touched down on a tree beside her hut.

Stepping down on to the threshold, Glory heard a noise- breathing.

"What the heck is that?" Glory said under her breath. She crept into the hut, locked the door, and sighed in relief.

"Oh, no," Glory breathed. Wide-eyed, she glanced quickly back in the direction of the infinitesimal sound. Glory walked to her bedroom, where she picked up a scroll and began to read to calm her nerves.

"It's all right, Glory," she said, trying to console herself. "There's nothing out there."

Glory was in the middle of a lengthy scroll, Red Claws, a murder mystery. The story was just getting good, and Glory was eager to find out what happened next. The protagonist, a SandWing named Scarab, had to avenge the death of her father, Anubis, by unmasking the murderer. It was quite engrossing.

Sahara was inspecting a bloody talonprint when the sound of crackling flame seized her attention. It was the door being burned down, Glory was sure of it.

Oh no, Glory thought. I have to hide, but where?

Looking around the room for a place, Glory settled on the closet. Crouching inside, she waited anxiously for the burglar to leave.

Suddenly, natural instinct kicked in, and Glory thought boldly, Maybe I can go fight the dragon that broke in. I'm not helpless, plus, I have venom.

Pushing forth the doors that concealed her, Glory made her way out of the bedroom and into the hall. She heard rummaging the bathroom a few rooms away, and started surreptitiously towards there. The door was closed, but there was obviously some dragon in inside. Mustering some courage, Glory pushed the door open and jumped on the turned back of the unwary dragon.

"Huh?" the NightWing gasped in a distinctly masculine voice. He fumbled for the ledge of the sink to ease his fall.

With the element of surprise on her side, Glory easily pinned the dragon. He didn't fight back or struggle- it actually seemed as if he was helping her pin him.

"Who the heck are you, and why were you stalking me?" Glory raged, smushing the dragon's face into the floor. He said something in reply, muffled by the bathroom floor.

He lifted up his head, and softly replied, "Glory, it's me, Deathbringer."

Glory spun the NightWing over on his back, and got a glimpse of his face. It was indeed Deathbringer. All sympathy for hurting someone she knew was nonexistent, however. Glory wanted to know first and foremost why he had been stalking her and breaking and entering.

"I'll explain," Deathbringer panted. Glory sat him up so she could face him. "It was something really important. I had-"

"If it was so important, why didn't you wake me up during sun time? Or talk to me before I went into the hut? How about that?"

"I didn't know about this during sun time, you know," Deathbringer scoffed. "And I couldn't make it to you before you got into the hut. I know you're going to ask this, so let me give you an answer- I didn't just knock because I didn't think of it. There. You may yell at me now."

Glory opened her mouth to scream, but stopped herself. Deathbringer's go-to to yell at him discouraged her to actually yell, and instead softened her spirits. She replied calmly, "What is it that was so prominent for you to tell me?"

Deathbringer's face lit up. "I can't just tell you," he said, almost giggling. "You have to see."

Glory's face contorted in an expression of pure anger and animosity. She glared at Deathbringer so hard, she thought he would crumple to the floor or turn to stone.

"Why did you break in, then?" she said, unleashing her wrath. Glory put her face up to Deathbringer and growled. "You burnt my door down and you disrupted my serenity. And I can't forgive you for that. Go." She pointed towards the door.

"But, Glory..." Deathbringer whimpered, a look of defeat painting his obsidian-black face.

"No buts!" Glory screamed. Deathbringer sighed and trudged for the door. "And you're going to make me a new door!"

Once the perpetrator was gone, Glory made her way back to her room and flopped down on the bed, sending Red Claws to the ground. Muttering a few choice words, Glory retrieved it.

"I only hope I can have a peaceful rest of the night," Glory mumbled. She set down Red Claws on the bureau drawer and marked her place by folding the scroll where she left off.

Glory switched on a broadcast on the radio, Pyrrhia Breaking News. The broadcasters, Orchid and Mangrove, began to talk about irrelevant things. The only thing that caught Glory's attention was the births.

"So," Mangrove said, realigning the papers he was reading from. "there is one birth today in the RainWing kingdom! He just hatched! We've got him here now, as a matter of fact-"

Glory turned off the radio, cutting Mangrove off. "A new birth!"

Thoughts swirled though Glory's brain. I wonder whose dragonet he is? What's his name? Why is he at the recording studio?

Eager for answers, Glory walked through the burnt husk of a door she had left, and swung through the night breeze towards the wooden hut near hers that was the recording studio.

The recording studio was actually connected to her hut- in fact, it was the old waiting hut that she and the others had waited in before meeting Queen Magnificent, and where they actually had met Mangrove as well. It was modified, but it was very much the same place.

Glory approached the door and knocked twice.

There was the clattering of someone getting up from a desk and a murmur of "I'll be there in a second."

The door swung open, revealing Orchid, one of the dragons Glory and Starflight had saved from the Night Kingdom. "Hello, Queen Glory! What a pleasure to see you here! What brought you?"

Before she answered, Glory had an epiphany- was this what Deathbringer was going to tell her? About the newborn dragonet? "Um, I heard about it on Pyrrhia Breaking News. The dragonet."

"Oh! We've actually been expecting you to come by, as a matter of fact- right this way!"

Orchid beckoned the RainWing queen inside the recording studio. Besides where the broadcast was actually recorded, the place was a mess. Smushed fruit strewn everywhere, a sickening paint job, and cables and wires that looked harder to untangle than your iPod's earbuds were some of the horrors the office contained. Past all that, though, a collection af about twelve dragons were watching something, but Glory couldn't see what it was.

"Move," Orchid commanded some of the RainWings. "Queen Glory is here to see the dragonet."

The now red, orange, and black RainWings stepped aside like the waves of the Red Sea, allowing Glory to pass.

Through the RainWings, a small dragonet sat on the floor, flaring his scales in every color imaginable. He was amazingly adorable- Glory almost jumped on him and hugged him.

"Isn't he precious?" said a voice from behind Glory.

The RainWing queen spun around to see her perpetually salmon-colored brother, Jambu, approaching.

"He's my own dragonet! Isn't this exciting?" Jambu shrieked. "My mate and I had him! Meet Toucan!"

A meek-looking RainWing stepped up and waved.

"And before you ask, little sister, I'm positive he's ours! Venom test!"

Shocked by the news, Glory asked, "What's his name?"

"It's Guava. Isn't that so adorable?" Jambu seemed hyper with excitement.

"I'm happy for you, Jambu," Glory said. "But I have to go."

"See ya, Glory!" Jambu called as she left.

Shutting the door, Glory climbed on to a branch and started to swing to a certain NightWing's hut.

I need to make amends with Deathbringer, Glory thought. And who knows? Maybe we can make the new door together.

Glory kept on her way to the assassin's hut, rejuvenated by the prospect of getting to spend some time with him. I can't wait, she thought.


	4. Starflight

Starflight

It was a beautiful morning. The birds were chirping, the leaves were rustling in a warm, summer breeze, and the bed felt so, so comforting and snug.

The only problem for Starflight was that he couldn't see any of this happening.

To Starflight, being blind was simultaneously the worst and the best thing to ever happen to him. On one talon, there was the bad- he couldn't see anything, obviously, and he also couldn't fly as well as he used to. On the other talon, there was good in it, too- he got more attention than ever before.

I wish I wasn't blind anymore, Starflight wished every day. There was nothing fun about blackness in your vision for a year. It would make anyone bitter.

That morning, morose Starflight was doing the one thing he could do without help- sulk. He lay there, reminiscing about the good times he had shared with his friends under the mountain.

"Hey, Starflight?" Fatespeaker's familiar voice called to him from the door. Starflight tilted his face in her direction. "Someone came to see you."

Personally, Starflight hoped it was Sunny. He loved Fatespeaker now, but six years of loving Sunny left its mark, even though he knew there was no chance she'd ever return the favor.

"Good morning, Starflight!" the visitor said.

Starflight's heart leaped when he heard the voice- Sunny!

I can't believe Sunny came to see me! he thought. Starflight's downtrodden spirits were made congenial and light when he heard Sunny's voice again.

"H-hello, Sunny," he managed.

Man, did that sound stupid! Starflight thought condescendingly.

Starflight could hear Sunny and Fatespeaker coming to his bedside. Sunny's warm scales were close to him, and Starflight couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Starflight, I came to read a scroll to you!" Sunny exclaimed. Getting read to was the best part of any day to Starflight. Since he couldn't see anyway, it was easier to visualize the story with only blackness in front of him.

"Take your pick," she said. "Tales of the NightWings or the Missing Princess?"

Grinning, Starflight answered, "Tales of the NightWings, of course."

"All right," Sunny said. "Story one, The Sleep Disturber. Dreamstealer was misunderstood. No matter how hard he tried, whenever he fell asleep, he ended up in someone else's dream. He'd accidentally wake them up after that, and-"

Sunny's elegant, calming voice was cut short by furious knocking at the door. "Come in!" Starflight called.

The door creaked open and Starflight heard the heavy footsteps of a dragon entering the hut.

"Hello, Sunny, Starflight, and Fatespeaker," the dragon greeted.

"Hi, Skypainter," Fatespeaker replied. "He's a NightWing scientist," she explained to Starflight and Sunny.

"Well, actually, I have come on an account of a scientific breakthrough!" Skypainter said ardently. "Please accompany me to the lab."

Fatespeaker helped Starflight up, and Sunny got up, dropping the scroll she'd been clutching in her claws. "Get your cane," Fatespeaker instructed.

Starflight fumbled around until he touched the branch of snakewood Clay had fashioned for him to look like somewhat of a pole. It worked, even in flight, and was boundlessly useful when evading trees.

Skypainter's joy made Starflight think. What scientific breakthrough had he discovered? What epiphany could lead to bursting in and practically screaming put the news? It was inexplicable to him.

I'll just have to wait and see, Starflight decided.

The door was opened, and Fatespeaker ushered Starflight out into the world. It had been a while since he had left his comfy abode for the warm rays of sunlight the outside world offered. Something that Starflight couldn't explain occured as well- his vision seemed almost... red. Remembering back to the days where he could see, this sight felt oddly familiar, though Starflight couldn't quite put a talon on it.

With the help of Fatespeaker, the trip to the lab was (mostly) easy, with a scratch from a branch here or there. Starflight pondered the whole time about his two qualms: the question about why Skypainter was so enthralled about his breakthrough, and why his own vision was reddened by the sun's light.

Before he knew it, Starflight's feet hit a wooden surface. Fatespeaker and Sunny guided Starflight forth, and he felt the sharp bite of cool air.

He was inside the science lab now, Starflight could tell. The frantic clicking of talons on the smooth granite floor combined with the smell of coffee cued Starflight in that today was a busy work day.

Starflight heard Skypainter conversing with someone, likely another scientist.

"I'm telling you, Skypainter. This is the find of the century!" a dragon said. "I see you've got him with you right now."

Before he was grasped and forced forward by the talons of Skypainter, Starflight knew he was the one being discussed about. After all, he was the only 'him' besides Skypainter himself.

"Okay, right this way," the scientist who had been talking to Skypainter said. The voice was feminine, but was a moderate pitch. The dragon ambled on ahead of him, and Starflight had to follow her sounds closely, as not to lose her.

After a bit more exposure to the lively sounds and scents of the giant lab, Starflight was surprised to find himself in a quiet, cool office. As far as Starflight could tell, he and the scientist were the only two in the room.

"Good morning, Starflight," the scientist said warmly. "I'm Elegant. Nice to meet you."

Starflight stuck out his talon, and groped around until he found hers. They shared one firm shake, then dispersed.

Starflight's vision began to redden again. His best guess was that there was sunlight streaming in through a window.

"I have one question," Starflight stated. "It's about my vision. I was wondering why I can see red light when I look into sunlight, like when..." Starflight cut off, racking his brain until he could recall what he needed to know. Suddenly, it struck him like a thunderbolt, and Starflight finished with, "like when you close your eyes."

Elegant didn't answer his question. Instead, she instructed, "Starflight, open your eyes."

He hadn't attempted opening them for a long time now. Last time he had, he couldn't- he was pretty sure that was what blindness did. Now the red light made sense, and Starflight could actually recall instances where he'd seen redness before. This time was no different from prior attempts. His eyes wouldn't open.

"Elegant, they won't open," he answered.

"That's what I thought," she murmured. There was the sound of a quill scratching on parchment, then the distinct sound of rummaging through something. "Starflight, drop this on your eyes."

Elegant handed him a vial of sorts. It was half-dropper, half-vial, it seemed- it was cool to the touch and quite heavy for its size.

Starflight positioned the vial over his left eye. He squeezed down, and envisioned a small bead of liquid falling towards his shut eye. Suddenly, an astounding feeling inundated through Starflight's body. It felt like a battalion of tiny soldiers were poking him with tiny spears, but simultaneously felt like a solacing hug, swaddling him in a wrapping of sharp ice and soothing fire.

Starflight dropped liquid into the other eye, too, and was stricken with the feeling again, even more powerful this time. He collapsed with the intensity, but fought his way back up, and found himself facing a vibrant indigo-pink RainWing, a wide window to her back. Starflight rubbed his eyes. He couldn't fathom what he was seeing- he couldn't even believe he was seeing.

"What were those things?" Starflight inquired. He stared around in disbelief, unsure of what happened.

"Those?" Elegant giggled. "Those were simple moisturizing drops."

Starflight was flabbergasted. "Then how did they cure blindness?"

"Starflight?" she peered softly into his eyes. "You never were blind."

The news struck Starflight like a sledgehammer. How could he not be blind? Starflight hadn't been able to see for a year, it was common knowledge that he was blind.

What a quack, he thought bitterly. The prospect that he'd been holding on to something that wasn't even true, something that had completely ruptured his life for so long, felt so... well... surreal. It was odd.

Apparently Starflight's visage had said everything, because when Elegant replied, it made absolute sense.

"Starflight, I can see you're shocked by this," she said. "I can explain. When you were hit by Morrowseer's fireball, yes, I was one of the RainWings standing there, I noticed something. When you fell on the grass, I noticed hardened rock around your eyes. I wasn't entirely sure they weren't just your scales, so I didn't speak up.

"But after that when I saw you, the rock became much more noticeable. I couldn't believe no one else had seen it. Later that day at the lab, I conducted some research at the lab: a painless procedure to remove the rock. Once I figured out moisturizing drops did the trick, I told Skypainter to go fetch you." Elegant sucked in a few breaths, very obviously out of breath from all of that explaining.

"I can't believe you would try that hard to help me!" Starflight said enthusiastically. "I can't thank you enough."

"Don't mention it," Elegant said. "Now let's get you back."

Starflight got up, his head no longer swimming with questions. He felt free. Sauntering down the granite hall back to the main room, Starflight had an unnatural spring in his step.

Starflight eventually found Sunny and Fatespeaker among the mass of NightWings and RainWings.

"Starflight?" Fatespeaker asked. "Why are your eyes open?"

"Because I can see now."

Sunny and Fatespeaker were ecstatic.

"I knew you'd be able to see someday!" Sunny said. She embraced Starflight, which sent an intense, overpowering feeling shooting through his body. "I'm so happy it's today!"

"I know, I'm happy, too!" Starflight said. His claws were itching for a scroll so furiously right now, he could almost feel one there. "Who says we go back to the hut?"

* * *

><p>Starflight, Sunny, and Fatespeaker were all back at the hut now. Crickets sang their songs outside, and the moon sung its silent hymn of the night. The trio had been out late sharing the news. Starflight had even given his cane to Tamarin, as he didn't need it any longer. She had willingly accepted it, and thanked him for it.<p>

"I guess that's my good deed for the day," Starflight joked.

"Hey," Sunny said, picking Tales of the NightWings up off of the ground. "We never did finish this."

"Want to read it?" Fatespeaker asked.

"I will," Starflight volunteered. Sunny handed over the scroll, and Starflight cleared his throat, and began to read, "Dreamstealer was misunderstood. No matter-"

Starflight's voice dissipated into the calm sounds of the night all around the hut- a quaint little hut in the rainforest, filled to the brim with the happiness and amiability of a loving family.


	5. Sunny

_**Hey, everybody! Before you read on, I just need to tell you now is the time to input**__** your suggestions for future chapters! Remember, you can either add a current alive or dead character from the series (I can make up a story about them from the past) or your own OCs and story plots. Here's the template for OCs:**_

**_Name of Character_**

**_Tribe of Character_**

**_What Do They Look Like?_**

**_Personality_**

**_Extra Information_**

**_Story Plot (optional)_**

* * *

><p>Sunny<p>

Sunny's day started off pretty well. She had spent the night at Starflight's hut because it was too late to fly back to the SandWing kingdom, and she had woken up to a party commemorating Starflight being able to see again.

But Sunny didn't know how that could turn into the most embarrassing moment of her life so far so quickly.

It all started at the party, which began in late morning. The sun was barely up yet, but the events were in full swing. Sunny had been awakened by the rampage, actually. There was inexorable pounding outside, and she had gotten up groggily, barely aware of what was going on. Sunny had fallen asleep rather late the previous night. She could have reckoned it was well past midnight; much too late to be woken up as early as she was.

Sunny pulled off the covers and instantly noticed Fatespeaker and Starflight were nowhere to be seen. The partygoers must have dragged them out of bed a while ago, she guessed.

Sunny swiped an apple from the counter to rejuvenate herself. Supposedly, apples were better at waking you up than caffeine. She hoped that was true.

The apple was jam-packed with juice, and it dribbled down Sunny's chin like a waterfall. As she hoped, the apple was a pick-me-up. Sunny started for the door, as hopped up as ever and ready for whatever the day threw at her.

When she opened it, Sunny was instantly slammed with the thought that maybe she would have to find an alternate way to exit the hut. Dragons were barricading the way out, and it was certain it wouldn't be an easy task to foray through them.

Invariably, there was a side exit to the hut, this one opening up to free, blue sky. Sunny opened her wings and jumped out, embracing the crisp morning air.

Sunny landed on the dew-soaked grass, where not a single dragon showed themselves. Clearly hearing the commotion resonating from the opposite side of the wooden structure, Sunny flitted over to where the action was at.

As soon as Sunny arrived, Fatespeaker, Tsunami, Glory, Peril, Anemone, and Auklet were gathered on one of the platforms the RainWings used for sun time. Auklet, who grasped a banana, beckoned her over with a claw.

I guess I should join them, Sunny thought. She made a course for the platform and touched down beside the others.

"Auklet, what's the banana for?" Sunny asked.

Auklet looked at the others, grinned semi-evilly, and answered, "We're playing Spin the Banana. Do you want to play?"

Yes, Sunny wanted to play. But what was the game?

"How do you play?" Sunny asked, Auklet again looking around the group and smiling.

"Oh, you'll see soon," Auklet said. She placed the banana down on the platform, which Fatespeaker grabbed and tossed up in the air, though not to high, so it wouldn't smash on the hard, wooden surface.

The long end of the banana pointed towards Peril, who instantly shrunk back in fear. The other dragonesses glanced over at Peril and giggled. They knew something Sunny didn't.

"What's this all about?" Sunny whispered discreetly to Glory, who sat to her left.

"Peril had the long end of the banana pointing at her. That means she has to go do something to embarass herself," Glory explained. She glanced to each side, to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "We're going to throw the banana again, to determine who picks the act of shame Peril has to perform."

Just as Sunny was going to question the point of this game, Anemone had the banana in her possession to throw.

"Everyone ready?" she said. Peril stepped back, so she wouldn't accidentally have the banana land on her again. Anemone tossed the banana, and the yellow, curved object soared in the air for one, quick moment, and dropped back down to earth. It landed, and Sunny gulped.

The curved, scimitar-like edge pointed at her.

"Go on, Sunny," Auklet pressured. "What will Peril do to embarrass herself?"

Sunny tried to think. She couldn't conjure anything to say that the dragonesses would think was eligible for embarrassment. Sunny thought it was... well... to cruel to do. Too cruel to force someone to do something like kiss someone else they hated or badmouth someone they liked. Sunny couldn't do it.

So she simply replied, "Please pick someone else. I can't think of anything."

The six dragonesses stared at her, mouths gaping open and eyes wide as dinner plates. Sunny shrugged, repeating, "Please pick someone else."

Auklet grinned, and whispered to Anemone, who whispered to Tsunami, who notified Fatespeaker, Peril, and Glory. They all glared at Sunny, and she felt like she wanted to cower in fear.

"It's all right," Auklet said. "We'll just do role reversal. Peril picks your poison, and you suffer the consequences."

Sunny wanted to shriek. She normally wasn't quick to anger, but this- this infuriated her. Sunny was absolutely fuming, and she couldn't shake the feeling that this was a horrible injustice. How dare they project embarrassment upon her just for being congenial. Just before she could voice her concerns, Peril spoke nine words, the ones that were her inevitable fate.

"You have to kiss Starflight in front of everyone."

If Sunny had been a person, she would be the one in a friend group that was so sensitive with crushes and 'liking' people and who she supposedly was going out with, she would do anything to stop the conversation before it got out of hand. Sunny had an actual, honest-to-goodness evil thought. She wanted to pulverize every dragon there.

Sunny knew she couldn't. Her fighting skills were poor, and even if she could fight, it was six against one. Even if she could beat Tsunami, Glory, Anemone, Auklet, and Fatespeaker, she couldn't trump Peril- she couldn't even touch her, let alone fight her. Sunny tried to calm down, and accept her task with grace and dignity.

Sure, having to kiss someone she didn't love, let alone in front of practically the whole RainWing and NightWing kingdom, was pretty disastrous. But of all the male dragons she possibly could have been assigned to kiss, she couldn't do much better than Starflight. She didn't like him in that sense, but he wasn't half-bad. Sunny did think of him as a good friend, though.

Maybe this won't be too bad, Sunny thought optimistically.

Pessimism didn't seem like it was the appropriate course of action right now, and Sunny thought it was better to walk into this with a straight face.

So after a long, uncomfortable silence, Sunny finally replied, "Fine, I'll do it. Where is he?"

Sunny personally hoped Starflight would be somewhere where not many dragons would see, but her hopes were dashed when Fatespeaker pointed to him talking to Clay and Riptide, right in the center of attention.

Sunny gulped, stood up, and trudged unwillingly over to her fate.

* * *

><p>Finally, Sunny stood right near Starflight, Clay, and Riptide, all three oblivious to the golden SandWing's prescence.<p>

Maybe I can get my way out of this, Sunny thought. I could just fly away or tell them I didn't want to participate.

Sunny stole a glance behind her, where she could make out the other dragonesses staring at her with content, all waiting for the hysterical moment where foolish little Sunny embarrassed herself. She glared right back at them indignantly, and turned to the three dragons, prepared to commence with her foolhardy task.

"Ahem." Sunny cleared her throat vociferously, and Starflight, Clay, and Riptide all swiveled around to look at her.

"Oh! Hey, Sunny," Starflight greeted. Just hearing his voice made Sunny so embarrassed; it made her want to say, "Never mind, just wanted to say hi." She knew she couldn't though- her friends would ridicule her, call her weak, and everything else they could think of to embarrass her even more.

"Starflight, can I talk to you?" she asked. "Like, privately?"

Sunny couldn't help but notice the reactions the three showed from her question. Riptide and Clay glanced at Starflight, smirking and whispering amongst themselves. Starflight, however, had a much harder to decipher expression- he looked embarrassed, relieved, and extremely excited all at once. Sunny thoroughly wondered what the fuss was all about.

"Sure, Sunny," Starflight said, walking away from Clay and Riptide with an odd gait. He looked as if his legs wouldn't support him, that he was too frail and shocked by what was currently happening that his body couldn't take it. Sunny was well aware that Starflight had used to like her, he'd even admitted himself to her, right before he, Glory, and the RainWings had taken that perilous plunge into the NightWing kingdom. It still seemed as if he still was quite fond of her, a fact made apparent by his nervousness. Sunny shook it off in full understanding of why it occurred.

Sunny led the nervous NightWing behind a thicket of trees, far away from prying eyes or eavesdropping dragons.

When they finally arrived, Starflight asked shakily, "Sunny, what did you need to tell me?"

Now that the moment had finally come to reveal the truth, Sunny wanted to equivocate to him so strongly. She could fib and say, "Oh, Fatespeaker wanted to tell you something," or "I think I'd like to stay at your hut for a week or so." No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to do it- it chagrined her so much, but she had to tell the truth, she just had to.

"Starflight, the reason I wanted to speak to you privately was..." Sunny faltered, and Starflight gestured for her to continue. She cleared her throat, and began. "The reason I wanted to speak to you privately was because, well, did you see that group of dragons using the banana on the sun time platform?" Starflight nodded.

"Well, that was something called Spin the Banana." Sunny explained the game to him, so he understood. "And I was chosen to perform an embarrassing task and my task was... to kiss you, right in front of everyone."

Starflight almost swooned. His face was contorted in a look of disbelief, and Sunny noticed just how happy he looked. She suspected this wasn't nearly as bad for him as it was for her, after all, he had had a deep affection for her and probably still had one.

"Where would we have to do it?" Starflight mumbled. He was shaking uncontrollably, still evidently trying his hardest to swallow what was happening.

Sunny looked off in to space, feeling rather repelled from looking Starflight in the eyes. "They didn't exactly specify," she answered. "I figure anything would suffice, just as long as a dragon sees it."

"Sunny?" Starflight said. Sunny turned her head to at least face him, but she directed her gaze on his horns, just near enough to his eyes to make him think that was what she was looking at. "Why are you agonizing so much about this?"

Sunny stared into his eyes now, utterly flabbergasted by what Starflight had said. "Say what now?" she managed.

"Why is this so bad?" he inquired. "I mean, I know you don't like me that way, and I'm just fine with that. But think, everyone knows that, pretty much. So they won't think less of you for it.

And think. Maybe the others will actually think more of you for it because you actually followed through with this. So, what do you say?" Starflight grinned, and Sunny knew he was hoping for her to say yes.

No matter how good Starflight's reasoning was, Sunny still wasn't too persuaded. She was more worried about what most of the dragons would think of her. She knew a lot of the RainWings and NightWings didn't know she wasn't that fond of Starflight, but pretty much all of them new he liked her- they might mistakenly believe they liked each other now.

Still, Sunny had a nagging doubt that maybe, Starflight was right.

"Okay, Starflight," she groaned. "Let's go. But only a quick one."

Starflight looked simultaneously disappointed and enthralled. Sunny guessed that he'd been expecting a full-on vehement kiss, lasting a lifetime. Sunny didn't want to embarrass herself that bad- just a quick peck would most likely suffice.

Starflight and Sunny discussed for a while how long exactly the kiss would be, where, and how the kiss would be conducted. The plan was all very elaborate, but it would have to work.

Sunny watched as Starflight walked off from the path from whence they had come originally, and once he was nearly out of sight, she took a side path through the trees that would lead her close to her friends.

The first stage of the plan is underway, she announced silently.

Once Sunny had come to the platform, the six dragonesses smiled at her wickedly, almost as if they had been expecting her.

"Sunny, you didn't do it yet," Glory said blatantly, stated the obvious.

"We'll pick an even more evil, more embarrassing thing," Peril said.

Sunny retained a stoic expression, but on the inside, she was grinning- the plan was going just how they'd thought it would.

"All right, I'll go do it," Sunny said in a fake sad voice. The six bought it, though, and sent her on her way.

Sunny and Starflight had planned it this way so they could be sure the six dragonesses were all watching them as it happened, so it would be unanimous among them that it had indeed occurred. Sunny persisted to check behind her numerous times on her trek to where Starflight now stood- in the middle of a group of five or so male dragons, all egging him on to kiss her. The plan had accounted for that, too, so it wouldn't be as much of a shock to passersby once they heard their incessant chanting.

Once Sunny was in speaking distance to the group of dragons, Deathbringer and Jambu, two of the dragons in that group, let her pass into the middle, where Starflight was.

"Oh, hey, Star-" was all Sunny could manage. Starflight had already stooped down to fit his lips onto hers, and held longer than he should've.

We only planned this for about two seconds! Sunny thought, infuriated. She struggled, but she couldn't escape from his vice-like grip on her. It was actually starting to feel... good.

Sunny felt disgusting just thinking about it, but she was starting to enjoy it, and her wariness about all that was happening around her faded.

Imagine the sweetest thing you've ever tasted. Multiply that by about a million,madd a dash of sugar, and there you go. That's what Sunny felt like right now. She started to get into it, pressing harder and hugging him even, until suddenly, the tantalizing sensation was as dead as a doorknob.

Starflight smiled warmly at her, and that was enough of a solace for Sunny's mixed feelings about it being different than she had expected. Sunny knew she didn't love Starflight, but she kept a mental note to list him as an option, only if he and Fatespeaker broke up.

"See ya, Starflight," she managed. He waved, and went back to talking with his friends, almost as if that fiasco had never even happened. Sunny could easily tell Starflight was elated by that kiss, and Sunny had a feeling she might have made his whole day a little better.

Sunny returned uneasily to her friends, still a little convinced that maybe they would make fun of her. She braced herself once she got there, and prepared for a barrage of taunts.

Instead, she saw Anemone bravely approach her. She was smiling and greeted Sunny jubilantly.

"Nice one!" she congratulated. "That took guts, let me tell you."

Tsunami, Auklet, Peril, and Glory had similar reactions. Only Fatespeaker wasn't happy for Sunny; she kept muttering that Starflight had never kissed her like that.

"Can we play again?" Auklet asked. Fatespeaker nodded to her and handed Sunny the banana. "Here, you spin, Sunny," she said.

Sunny tossed the banana up in the air, but it flew a bit too high and veered through the sky dead-set in Auklet's direction. Sunny noticed where it was going to land, and tried to alert Auklet, but she was too late. The banana broke on her head, covering the green SeaWing with banana head to talon.

Tsunami began to laugh, and eventually everyone, even Auklet, followed suit. Sunny helped her brush the banana off of her, and the seven dragonesses decided to just talk for a while about Sunny's feat.

"Sorry we were such jerks to you about it," Peril apologized. "It was just getting interesting, and..."

"Oh, it's fine," Sunny consoled. "I get it."

"Hey, why did you pull Starflight to the side at first?" Fatespeaker asked. "Were you practicing?"

"We were making a plan, actually," Sunny replied. She explained it to them.

"That's pretty evil what Starflight did." Tsunami smirked. "He'll never hear the end of that."

"Yeah, I actually counted how long you two lovebirds were into it for," Anemone remarked. "It was about a minute and a half."

"Wow, that long?" Sunny marveled.

Suddenly, Auklet's stomach growled raucously. "I think it's about lunchtime," the SeaWing stated. "How about it?"

Everyone agreed to go get lunch, and as the seven made a beeline for the snack tables, Sunny noticed Starflight waving at her and she waved back, slightly embarrassed. And as she flew away from him, Sunny finally noticed just how fond of him she really was.


	6. Author's Note

Hey, everyone, this isn't really a chapter, but an author's note. I just want to make it clear that the story will be unable to continue if you guys don't review this story with suggestions for the chapters. The first five chapters were posted that way since I wanted the dragonets to have chapters for sure. So, thanks to all of you that have read this story, and I feel like I need to apologize for all the swearing from before! Sorry!

Thanks,

FirestartheWarriorCat


	7. (OC) Charcoal

_**Hey, guys, I'm back! And to mysteryreader6626, this story is not over with. I just took a while on this chapter, but I'll bounce back, don't you worry! Special shout out to zzzSleepyCreeper for suggesting Charcoal, and I want to thank you so much! Thank you, guys, for supporting me with this story. Don't forget to follow and favorite!**_

* * *

><p>Charcoal<p>

It was Charcoal's final day of school, as summer vacation was just about to roll around. While most of the dragonets were excited to leave and go home to their kingdoms, Charcoal wasn't at all, for two reasons.

The former one was that he loved school. Charcoal was near the top in every class, and he always made the honor roll. He would certainly miss it, but the novelty of summer would undoubtedly wear off after a while.

The latter reason was... well... much more depressing.

Charcoal didn't have anyone to go home to.

Charcoal's parents had betrayed Queen Ruby back when he was just a baby. He never was explained to why exactly they had displeased Ruby, but Charcoal was much too afraid to ask.

Charcoal's parents were forced to partake in the gladiator arena, and they were both brutally killed. Charcoal didn't know who killed them or how- he was much too small to remember it.

With no parents to care for him, Charcoal was therefore in possession of Queen Ruby, who looked after him. She was a tyrant of a foster mother, and was very unfair and demanding- he was almost her slave.

As Charcoal walked into school that morning, contemplating what he would do this summer to avoid Ruby's wickedness, his best friend, Crimson, ran up behind him. He smiled. Crimson was a SkyWing just like him, but she had blood-red scales and vermillion horns to match her hyperactive personality. Charcoal's scales were more dreary and plain, being dull shades of copper and rusty red. Her eyes were blue, like sapphires, and his were gray like ash. She had the normal reddish back spines of a SkyWing, while his were midnight black.

"Hey, Charcoal!" Crimson said enthusiastically. "My family said they'd adopt you!"

"That would never work," Charcoal said. Crimson demanded an explanation, and Charcoal added, "She scarcely leaves me out of her sight. She'd freak if anyone laid so much as a talon on me."

"That sucks," Crimson looked defeated.

"I know it does, but we've got first period in two minutes!" Charcoal said, noticing a sundial in the hallway.

"I don't need to worry," Crimson bragged. "I already got my stuff prepared."

"Wait for me at the room, then," Charcoal retorted. "My locker is farther away."

As Crimson broke away to get to Language Arts, Charcoal bolted towards his locker, full SkyWing speed in gear. Luckliy, he wasn't stopped or reprimanded for flying in the halls, so Charcoal was able to stash his textscrolls he didn't need, get his Language Arts textscroll, and successfully get back to class before the warning bell sounded.

The room was already open once Charcoal arrived, so he ambled right in and plopped down his seat beside Crimson in the front of the room. Several other dragonets were already sat down, most conversing excitedly, likely discussing what they would do after school. A few were reading quietly, and one or two were writing the day's schedule on the board up front.

"Say, where's Sear?" Crimson asked Charcoal. Sear was a SandWing, and she was the one who taught this class. She was as small as most of the dragonets were, but she was very bubbly and talkative. In her room, class got off-track often, which made it a favorite among the students.

"I don't know," Charcoal answered. "She could be in the teachers' cave, or-"

Charcoal was interrupted by a rough clearing of a dragon's throat. He and Crimson glanced towards the door to see their headmaster, Fullmoon. The NightWing had a reputation of being horrendous at his job, but he looked dead serious right now.

"Students?" he called. A few of the stragglers seeped into the room, trying to avoid Fullmoon's gaze. He might have been horrible, but he was feared, too- he also was known for his iron fist when it came to discipline.

"Sear is absent today," Headmaster Fullmoon explained. There were numerous groans from dragonets in her homeroom- each teacher held a party on the last day each year, and Sear's were usually the best.

"Instead, I'll be teaching you today!" he said enthusiastically. It was blatantly clear no one was fine with this decision. Charcoal thanked his lucky stars he was in a different homeroom, because he would bet anything the party would be terrible for Sear's homeroom.

"This sucks, doesn't it?" Crimson whispered to him. She was in Sear's homeroom, Charcoal remembered.

"Sorry about having Fullmoon head the party," Charcoal quickly apologized. He didn't want Fullmoon to catch him talking, because although it might have been the final day, it was still possible to be punished.

"Okay, class, go in your textscrolls to story 15, and..." Fullmoon instructed. Charcoal was too focused on what was going to come after school today to listen. It was incomprehensible how much he dreaded going back to his hell of a home. Charcoal knew there was no avoiding it, but he still had a slimmer of hope something would happen to alter his doom.

* * *

><p>The shrill two-tone bell resounded throughout the school, and every dragon rushed out the door, giddy with excitement to enjoy their summer vacation.<p>

Neptune, the SeaWing that manned Charcoal's homeroom, bade every dragon a good summer, but Charcoal barely noticed the farewell. He felt like he was trudging through mire, with a thick cloud of dread and angst hanging above him about what was to come. He was swept forward by a stream of dragonets, and Charcoal just went along with the mass of them until the narrow, cramped stone hallways opened up into the vast expanse of the outside world. Teachers were trying in vain to organize the students, but most of them flew off, unable to be herded, they were flying so fast and eagerly.

"I'd better go join Crimson," Charcoal muttered to himself. She was suspended in mid-air by the walls of the school, obviously waiting for him.

As Charcoal flew over, the aforementioned cloud seemed to swell in size; the mire becoming more and more thick and mitigating. Charcoal just couldn't bear the thought of returning to the tyranny of Queen Ruby.

There has to be some other way, Charcoal thought. A way to avoid that hellhole... is there?

Just before Charcoal gave in and flew off with the other SkyWings, he was jolted by another dragonet.

"Oh, hey, Palette," Charcoal greeted unenthusiastically. Palette was a RainWing, and his coloration was about as random and erratic as Crimson's personality was. The odd thing was that Palette was pretty low-key like Charcoal was, despite his scales.

"Hey, Charcoal," Palette replied. "Hope you have a good summer!" Before Charcoal could even say bye to Palette, he had already flown off to join his RainWing friends. Charcoal could feel his face getting hot with jealousy; he was barely ever allowed to leave Ruby's castle, much less spend time with other dragonets.

Just then, a faint glimmer of hope seeped itself into Charcoal as an idea struck him.

What if I didn't go home? Charcoal thought.

It sounded so preposterous and stupid inside his head, but it seemed like a good idea. Ruby couldn't control him if she didn't know his whereabouts, correct?

The only part of that Charcoal still needed to fill in was where he would go to make his home. Going anywhere remotely near the Sky Kingdom was a big no-no, but going to somewhere that wasn't settled by a tribe of dragons was out of the question as well. He surmised the only sensible place would be the RainWing kingdom. They were friendly there, and in Pyrrhia History class, he'd learned their queen was nice, too.

It's settled, then, Charcoal thought. Raising himself up into the vast blue sky, the SkyWing dragonet followed the cluster of RainWing dragonets back to their kingdom.

* * *

><p>Charcoal panted in exhaustion, struggling to fly any longer.<p>

He'd been foraying the path to the rainforest kingdom for what seemed like years, and his wings were beginning to feel like dead weights, gradually pulling him closer and closer to the ground below.

Charcoal guessed the RainWing dragonets didn't even know he was there. The first few hours of the journey, Charcoal had been only about 40 yards behind the pack, and now he was so far behind that he had to use full SkyWing speed to even catch the tiniest, most miniscule glimpse of a tail or a snout. He had fallen asleep for a little too long the previous night, and he had been forced to sniff out the group by pure chance. To his relief, the surroundings were beginning to morph into what looked like rainforest, giving the SkyWing dragonet the hope he'd arrive soon.

After a while, he finally was close enough to the other dragonets to catch smatterings of conversation. Most of it was unimportant, but once, he heard a dragonet mention they would be in the rainforest soon. Charcoal was beginning to grow pretty excited at the thought of resting his exhausted wings.

Soon, the songs of birds and the clamor of monkeys surrounded Charcoal, and he was thrilled to explore more of his world. The rainforest was infinitely magnificent, with the pale green light shining through the canopy and the bright dots of fat fruits around every corner.

Momentarily forgetting the berth he had spaced between him and the RainWing dragonets, Charcoal soared ahead, invigorated by the prospect of starting a new life here. The dragonets stared at him in confusion, but Charcoal neither cared nor noticed them.

Charcoal settled down a little bit as he got more familiar with the world presented to him, just wanting to calmly probe the land. Charcoal was examining a butterfly's beauty when a sharp call alerted him.

There on the forest floor, charging towards him, was a trio of angry red RainWing warriors, all armed with spears and protected by armor. Charcoal assessed the situation, and decided to fake out the guards so he could fly past.

Charcoal rushed right at the guards, and he thought he saw the littlest speck of fear show up in their scales as he bolted over them. Deftly, he dodged their spears' jabs, and flew as fast as he possibly could away from them.

Charcoal heard a WHISSSSHHH! behind him, and he looked back to find the source of the sound. What he saw was a bronze spear, flying in an arc directly for him. In a panic, Charcoal barely missed the spear. Sure enough, one of the guards didn't have a spear, at least not anymore.

The only thing I can think of to do is dodge all of the spears, and try to get help, Charcoal thought.

Filled with determination, Charcoal started to fly faster than ever before. He was vying to reach the queen's palace and get her help there, though he was scared he would be caught first; the first spear encounter had shaken him thoroughly.

Since he was so focused on speeding ahead rather than dodging, Charcoal couldn't see the second spear homing right for his tail. Excruciating pain inundated up from his tail to his head, and ruby-red blood spilled out on to his rust red scales.

The spear's dead weight on his tail dragged him to the ground, and Charcoal felt his muscles begin to convulse and spasm under the pain. His eyes closed and everything tensed up with the burden of the pain, and he almost wished to die, it hurt that much.

For a split second, the pain washed away like a seashell on the beach during high tide.

I don't... want this... Charcoal thought. His mind felt as clouded as a foggy morning, bleary and unclear.

Charcoal wanted to keep fighting to stay up, but blackness washed over him like a thick, black wave, and all the sounds in the world instantly vanished.

* * *

><p>Charcoal's eyes fluttered open slowly, and the surrounding world made itself progressively clearer and clearer for the SkyWing dragonet to the point where his vision was no longer obscured with a void of nothing.<p>

It seemed to Charcoal that he was in a tree hut, with wooden walls, no windows, and no apparent exits that Charcoal could see.

The next thing Charcoal noticed was that he was thickly swaddled in tough vines, and he couldn't move a single paw, or even his tail. His head was fortunately free from his bounds, but he couldn't do anything to help the situation with just his head.

The faint sound of light pawsteps filled Charcoal's ears, and he quickly closed his eyes and faked sleep, so the entering guard wouldn't see him awake yet, which opened up a faint prospect of overhearing anything useful. As the pawsteps drew nearer, Charcoal tried his best to look actually asleep.

When the pawsteps stopped, Charcoal knew for sure a guard had entered the room, and he scrunched up his eyes in fear, forgetting to stay stoic and calm. As quickly as the dragon's pawsteps had entered the room, they exited, filling the captured dragonet with relief.

Soon, more pawsteps of what seemed like a group of dragons started to advance on Charcoal, and the fake sleeping position was assumed. He felt the cold grip of talons as he was hoisted up and carried by one of the guards down what seemed to be a long hall. The footsteps abandoned their course in favor of one leading to the right, then one to the left, then so many more turns that he was beginning to think that the guards had gotten lost.

After a bit, the footsteps stopped again, the creaking of a door could be heard, and the air suddenly became humid, and Charcoal couldn't help but open his eyes ever so slightly.

The four guards that had beared the burden of a dragonet laid down their load on the wooden floor, and Charcoal could see a an ocean of different colors adorning their scales, just as. bright and beautiful as the ones he was used to seeing on students and teachers at school.

The humidity was mist, which covered the room faintly. It obscured Charcoal's vision, but not enough to really bother him. He closed his eyes again, and started to hear speaking.

"Queen Glory?" a voice said, one that undoubtedly belonged to a guard. "We found a SkyWing, and we believe he is a spy for Queen Ruby."

The surprise of the declaration of Charcoal being a spy forced the SkyWing dragonet's eyes open, which showed him the figure of a dragoness perched on her throne. Queen Glory was too shrouded in mist to be easily visible, but she got off her throne and approached Charcoal.

"You really think a dragonet would be a spy, Jaguar?" Glory said boredly to the RainWing with black and orange scales. "He's only about four, by the looks of it." Glory rubbed her forehead in frustration. "You four are more incompetent at being guards that a fish is at climbing a tree."

"Sorry, Your Majesty," all four guards apologized.

"Leave," she simply forced.

The four guards left, muttering curses, and Glory came up to Charcoal. She sliced his bounds, and beckoned for him to sit up.

"So, what's your name?" Glory asked Charcoal in a kind voice.

"It's... it's Char... coal," Charcoal stammered. He was unimaginably terrified, worried that he'd be imprisoned or killed.

"So, Charcoal, why did the guards bring you here?" Glory asked. He gave him a questioning look, very obviously eager for an answer.

"Well, school had just ended, and I flew home with the RainWing dragonets," Charcoal began. "I didn't go back to the SmyWing kingdom because... well... my parents were killed when I was just a baby dragonet, and Queen Ruby raises me now, and I hate her." Charcoal scowled at the ground, slightly angered even at the thought of Ruby. "So I followed the RainWing dragonets here, and the guards threw a spear at my tail and pinned me to the ground. The next thing I knew, I was here, wrapped in vines."

Charcoal held up his tail, which was barely able to move. Knowing well the tail was crucial in a dragon's flight, he wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to roam the wide-open sky anymore, at least for a while.

"Charcoal?" Glory's soft, gentle gaze met his, and she looked almost doubtful to speak. "I decided something, and that something is to move you into a hut."

"My own hut?" Charcoal gasped. "Here? In the rainforest? Not with Queen Ruby?"

"That's right." Glory smiled at him, and Charcoal was teeming with joy. He'd never have to see Queen Ruby again, and he'd get to live in the most beautiful place he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Thank you so much!" he said. "I can't wait to see it!"

Glory stood up, and Charcoal followed suit. They were on the first floor, so they exited out the door and stepped foot into the vast rainforest, its beauty as much of a sight of grandeur as ever.

"Come on, Charcoal," Glory said. "It's about time to start your new life."


	8. Deathbringer

Deathbringer

Everything was on fire inside Deathbringer, but he tried to ignore the searing pain. The NightWing assassin had decided to take a trip back to the old NightWing kingdom, as he was bored and was desperate for something to do. Deathbringer was starting to regret ever stepping back into the old kingdom, as his scales felt on the verge of melting. He kept on, though, for no particular reason other than how driven he was to foray the ramshackle hellhole that had once made his home. He was too optimistic about his good fortune of even making it this far, and found it pointless to turn around now.

"Look at the volcano!" Deathbringer gasped, as he saw the black mountain towering forebodingly in the distance. Copious streams of glowing lava still poured from the summit, illuminating the rocky, rough slope orange, and the volcano had created a giant, black smoke ring around itself. It had stained the sky red, like a background of SkyWing scales. It was quite a sight to see, and it made Deathbringer shiver a bit with excitement. This place was more amazing than before, although he was sure no one else would agree.

Deathbringer couldn't shake the feeling that he was alone here, and that was fine with him sometimes. But as he surveyed the odd beauty the old place provided, he wanted someone to be here with, someone to explore with, someone to talk with. He had spent a lot of time with Starflight lately doing guy stuff, but sharing this isolation with someone didn't seem to be a thing to do with another male dragon, but a dragoness, and a particular one at that.

Deathbringer missed Glory fiercely. Scarely did he ever see her, as he was only a lowly assassin, and she was a queen. There were few times where they could talk at all, and the sessions were short-lived and rushed. Deathbringer longed to be alone with Glory here, and to embrace her and tell her how much he loved her quietly in her ear.

Casting one last, mournful look at the grand volcano, Deathbringer turned around toward the portal to the RainWing kingdom. He was going to talk to Glory and convince her to spend some time here with him. Eagerness welled up inside Deathbringer at the thought of being with his love, and he swiftly flied towards the portal to abscond the ravaged land of fire for the lush land of rain.

* * *

><p>As Deathbringer approached Glory's hut, the faint dregs of sunlight seeped behind the thick, leafy canopy and all sounds made by dragons seemed to peter out, leaving the only sounds as those made by the wildlife.<p>

When he landed in front of her door, he rapped on it with a paw a few times, and all was silent until the sound of someone getting up and walking over to get the door resounded through Deathbringer's ears. The creak of a wooden door could be heard, and out stepped Glory, who smiled sarcastically upon spotting Deathbringer.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't set fire to my door this time," she stated, smirking. "Come in, I have something to tell you, Deathbringer."

"You do?" Deathbringer muttered. "Oh. You do." He hated to sound unconfident around Glory, as he knew well females were attracted to males who were sure of themselves. Although, even the thought of Glory telling him something made him intimidated as he felt around scavengers.

Deathbringer stepped uncomfortably into Glory's hut, remembering the last time he'd been over, when he had snuck in. The encounter still was with him, and he really didn't like to think about it.

Glory led him to a table, where wooden utensils and plates were laying there, unwashed.

"Sorry for the mess," Glory said meekly. She shoved all the clutter to the edge of the table, and Glory motioned for Deathbringer to sit down. As he pulled out a chair, he could feel Glory's gaze on him, waiting expectantly for him to sit down.

When he was seated, Glory said, "Deathbringer, I'm glad you came. I needed someone to help me, and I couldn't have anyone better here."

"What help do you need, Glory?" Deathbringer asked.

A giggle came from the hallway and Deathbringer and Glory looked on to see a small dragonet tearing down it at full speed. The tiny RainWing's scales were flaring with different colors wildly.

"Aunt Gwowy?" he said. "Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Deathbringer, Guava," Glory explained. "Now run along, we're talking," she urged.

When Guava had left, Deathbringer leaned over and asked, "Glory? Why did he call you his aunt?" Deathbringer had never heard of that dragonet before, and he wondered why he'd suddenly seemed to spring into existence.

"Didn't you hear of Jambu's dragonet before?" Glory said, appalled. "I can't believe you, Deathbringer. I told you about him when we made that door together!"

Deathbringer was taken aback. He couldn't get enough of Glory in general, but he wasn't too fond of her sporadic anger outbursts. They made him want to just leave, but Deathbringer knew that would be rude and might also damage their relationship severely.

"Glory?" the NightWing intoned, trying to break the anger. "I'm sorry. That was months ago, and I don't really have the best memory. And this isn't really something to fight over, so can't we please just quit?"

Glory's gaze softened, and she started to retreat a little, backing up a bit and hunching up her shoulders. Just as Deathbringer was beginning to think he'd came off as harsh, Glory's head tilted back up and she slowly began to speak. "You're right Deathbringer, this isn't really something to fight over."

"See?" Deathbringer said. "It's not hard to walk away from your anger. If you only did this more often, you'd be a lot more lovable."

"All right, all right, enough with the preaching. I have something important to tell you, and I don't think you'll like it." Glory sighed. "I was wondering if you could help me look after Guava for a few hours, because Jambu and Toucan are out on a date, and they dumped the brat here."

"Oh, okay..." Deathbringer mumbled disappointedly. He'd hoped he could bring Glory to the NightWing kingdom tonight, but those hopes were shot; he might as well accept it.

"Thanks, Deathbringer, you're the best." Glory smiled at him, and it was so sincere Deathbringer didn't even find the slightest bit of sarcasm. The gratitude filled Deathbringer with five gallons of blissful happiness.

"So, what do we have to do?" Deathbringer asked. "I've never dragonetsitted before."

"Well, Jambu left me with a couple things for Guava," Glory said, getting up from her chair and retreating towards another room. "I'll be a second, Deathbringer, hold up."

Deathbringer could hear Glory rummaging for something, and he was just about to go ask her if she needed help when Glory emerged from the room, a scroll of parchment in one front talon and some toys in the other. She set them all down on the floor, but retrieved the scroll and settled it on the table.

"Toucan wrote me this handy guide on how to deal with Guava," Glory said, unfurling the ink-soaked parchment.

"I take it Guava's a talonful."

"You'd better believe it."

"So what's on that list?" Deathbringer inquired. He squinted at the parchment in Glory's talon, and it seemed to him there was a lot to consider when handling Guava; he was beginning to not look forward to this at all, but a bit of confidence still stirred inside.

"Oh, ways to keep him entertained, when he needs to sleep, what he'll eat, what I should do when he misbehaves, aaaaaannndddd..." Glory's eyes scanned down the list, and upon stopping, she finished, "Oh, and what Toucan and Jambu allow him to do, just in case he tries to take advantage of us."

"That was very thoughtful of Toucan," Deathbringer began, "but are you sure we'll need all that help? It couldn't be too tough, now that I think of it."

"Deathbringer, you've got to be kidding," Glory scoffed. "Guava is an absolute terror."

"Alright, let's get to work, then," Deathbringer said. "Where's Guava?"

"I don't know," Glory thought aloud. "Guava!" she called. "Where are you?"

No reply. "Guava!" Deathbringer tried.

"He usually answers when I call, at least," Glory muttered, worried. "Don't tell me he ran away; Jambu will disown me!"

"Deathbringer." Glory tugged on Deathbringer's arm. "You've got to help me! I need to find him!" Glory was getting frantic, and Deathbringer could hear her start hyperventilating.

"C'mon, Glory," Deathbringer soothed. "We'll find him. Why don't we check the room he's staying in? Perhaps he's asleep."

"Didn't think of that," Glory pondered. Her face lit up a bit and she started to go for the hall. "It's down here, Deathbringer."

The NightWing followed the RainWing queen, hoping Guava was in fact in his room. He barely knew the dragonet, yet he felt every urge in his lithe body calling for him to protect Guava, merely because of his relation to Glory. He knew it was selfish, but Deathbringer was mainly focused on finding Guava because Glory would praise him for it.

Deathbringer turned into Guava's room, Glory slightly behind him. He glanced quickly around the room, which contained a wooden bed, a short scrollshelf, a couple toys, and other assorted trinkets of no importance. The one thing that was not present in the room, though, was little Guava. Deathbringer heard a sharp gasp behind him; Glory.

"He isn't here!" she screamed. "Jambu will kill me!"

Deathbringer felt a cold wind sweep over him, and he looked around in confusion.

"Glory, did the room suddenly get... colder?" Deathbringer asked.

"The window's open," Glory observed. She went to shut it, but stopped herself.

"Deathbringer?" Glory said. "I think I know where to find Guava."

* * *

><p>"Glory, he's not here." Deathbringer shivered, and shook his head frustratedly. "We've been at it for hours."<p>

"No, he's here." Glory stared ahead, her gaze transfixed on the ground. "He couldn't have gone far."

Deathbringer was starting to doubt they'd ever find Guava at this rate. The moon was high in the sky and the stars and constellations were all out, but they kept trudging on, Glory holding on to a false hope and Deathbringer longing to just turn around. He was cold, tired, and hungry, and he couldn't fix any of his problems, not unless he wanted to lose Glory's friendship. They were deep in the rainforest, and all was quiet, making Deathbringer all the more scared a dragon would jump them. He was used to the life of an assassin, and he knew well a forest at night was a great place to hunt your victims.

"Deathbringer, there's a place to rest up ahead. I know you're tired, so why don't we take it easy for a second before we keep searching?" Glory offered. There were rings under her eyes, and she looked more worried and disheveled than Deathbringer had ever seen her. Deathbringer had an overpowering urge to embrace her and never let go; to comfort her of this endless grieving.

"It would be a pleasure, Glory." Deathbringer smiled, and he could tell Glory had too, and he was content, knowing that Glory was at least a little cheered up. Deathbringer could tell nothing was more important to the queen right now than to find her little nephew, and Deathbringer felt a strong conviction that Guava would be found.

When Deathbringer and Glory reached the clearing, Deathbringer laid down, and finally noticed how much his legs felt like tree trunks right now. All four of them were stiff and sore, and Deathbringer was so glad to rest temporarily.

"Hey, Deathbringer, I recognize this clearing." Deathbringer glanced over to a stargazing Glory. "It's the one with the entrance to the NightWing kingdom, I'm pretty sure."

"That's a relief," Deathbringer said. "At least we have an idea of where we are."

Silence hung in the air for a few moments, and both dragons just gazed lazily up at the stars, forgetting the hardships of searching.

"This pwace is awesome!" A dragonet's voice alerted the pair of dragons. Glory and Deathbringer sat bolt upright, unsure of the voice's source.

"That voice was familiar," Glory remarked. "I just can't put a talon on it..." Glory fell silent.

"That vowcano is so big!" shrieked the same voice from before. The sound seemed to come from a tree several meters away, the one Deathbringer remembered was a portal to the NightWing kingdom.

"Three moons!" Glory exclaimed. "That's Guava!"

She got up, and called Guava's name. "GUAVA! GUAVA, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Glory, he's on the other side of the portal." Deathbringer led her towards the tree. "C'mon Glory, let's get him before he escapes again, and quickly."

"Are you sure that's where he is, Deathbringer?" Glory clung to him fretfully, her face contorted in a look of grief-stricken panic.

"I'm sure I'm sure," Deathbringer soothed. "For the last time, Glory, we need to get to him before he falls in lava."

Glory glanced uneasily at the tree portal, as if to measure it. "All right, let's go." Glory stepped into the portal, and Deathbringer crammed himself in with her.

As they traversed the short distance to the searing hot NightWing kingdom, Deathbringer cracked a bit of a grin; he couldn't believe he was here with Glory. The circumstances weren't the most positive, but he would manage. Deathbringer played the scene out in his head, with he and Glory finding Guava, bringing him back home, and returning to the NightWing kingdom, just the two of them. As the firey heat began to envelop him and the lush landscape transformed into a lava-ridden wasteland, Deathbringer reassured himself that everything would turn out okay.

"GUAVA, YOU GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW," Glory commanded to the ravaged kingdom. Guava had apparently took off again into the depths of the NightWing kingdom, and Deathbringer let out a frustrated breath at the thought of finding the little rascal again, especially after they were so close to getting him.

"Aunt Gwowy, I don't wanna weave!" Guava's voice screamed. Deathbringer spotted him dashing along the side of a large pool of lava, running recklessly. His scales flashed at complete random into different colors, and he was obviously having fun.

"Deathbringer, go get him," Glory said. "Please do it before he passes out."

"Right on it." Deathbringer didn't falter at all as he soared like a hawk towards Guava, who looked as if he would never quit running. Dwathbringer had to go quickly to keep up, and he thought his lungs woukd burst as he landed beside the young dragonet.

Guava stopped in his tracks at the sight of Deathbringer. "AHHHHH! Aunt Gwowy, it's a NightWing!" Guava probably didn't remember Deathbringer's face, which he understood, since Guava was so young.

"It's alright, Guava, I won't bite." Deathbringer reached out to pick up Guava to return him to Glory, but the dragonet began to bolt away in fear.

"Come back, Guava!" Deathbringer yelled, getting off the ground and on to his feet. He charged after Guava, who began to stray towards the lava. A rock appeared in front of Guava, and for a quick, horrible moment, the RainWing's talon hot caught on the rock, sending him sprawling towards the lava.

Deathbringer swooped in at the last second and grabbed Guava by the paw, saving him. Deathbringer's tail was on fire, but he had no time to stop and peter the flame out with a foot or a wing. His body felt like it would explode from the pain, and Deathbringer was aware of every single hurting scale. He couldn't hear his own cries of agony, and the last thing Deathbringer saw before he blacked out was Glory's shocked and relieved expression and Guava's fluorescent, always-changing RainWing scales.

* * *

><p>"Huh?" Deathbringer's senses returned to him, jolting him into immeasurable pain. His tail hurt more than anything else, but it was no longer on fire.<p>

Soft footsteps made themselves clear to the NightWing, and Deathbringer squinted up to see Glory. The pale green fear flushed from her scales upon seeing him and morphed into raspberry pink optimism.

"I brought Guava back, and he fell right asleep," she said. "We don't need to worry about him for a while, alright?"

"Okay." Glory pulled Deathbringer to his feet, and he noticed, in a moment of pure glee, that they were in the NightWing kingdom.

"Should we... go back?" Glory asked. Deathbringer shook his head, and his face started to get warm.

"Glory, I was striving all day to have some alone time with you. I never see you anymore, and I wanted to find Guava so I could please you." Glory's scales turned into crimson and pink love, and Deathbringer continued, smiling. "I can't express to you in words how much I love you, and how much I love to be with you.

You brighten up my day whenever I see you, and I just need to get this out of the way." Deathbringer got down on one knee, and Glory gasped.

"Glory, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you... will you marry me?" Deathbringer smiled at Glory, and she seemed to double over in shock.

Glory went up to him, her scales as pink as the sunrise, and she simply embraced him.

"Of course I'll marry you, stupid. Now come here." Before Deathbringer could react, Glory fitted her lips to his and pushed him to the ground. The world seemed to spin, and it was a moment before she pulled away, and smiled sarcastically at him.

"Let's not tell anyone, all right? I want to keep it a secret for a while," Glory said. "I love you."

"Not as much as I love you." Deathbringer pecked her quickly, and he embraced her. The two dragons collapsed on the ground and smiled at each other for a few moments, before Glory and Deathbringer both kissed each other at the same time in a long, ardent kiss.

I love you, Glory, Deathbringer thought. I'll never love anyone as much as you.

The world seemed to contain nothing more than Glory and Deathbringer, and he was completely content at the thought of that. Their love would last forever, and Deathbringer knew it was true more than anything else he had ever known.


End file.
